Oct 13, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) is congratulated for his touchdown by head coach Deion Sanders in the first quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Why Deion Sanders Believes in Jaguars' Star Travis Hunter

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By John Shipley | Last updated Aug 2, 2025 4:00 PM ET

Jacksonville Jaguars rookie phenom Travis Hunter has been the talk of the NFL since the April blockbuster that brought him to Duval, and for good reason.

Hunter has been fantastic for the Jaguars in training camp to this point, making plays for the Jaguars on both sides of the ball as he attempts to be the NFL's only full-time two-way player.

Mix Hunter's natural talent, his past success and the words of his former head coach and it is easy to see why so many people are excited about what Hunter can do in Jacksonville.

Deion Sanders Weighs In

Speaking with former NFL cornerback Asante Samuel on the 'Say What Needs to Be Said' podcast, Sanders explained why he thinks Hunter will have an easier transition to the NFL than people think.

"This is something that people are forgetting about the Travis Hunter situation in the NFL. In college football, man, we ran tempo," Sanders said.

"Snap the ball, snap the ball, snap the ball, snap. Pros, you gotta huddle dog. You know how much more time that he's going to get to rest between plays when he's tempo, tempo, offensive, defense, tempo, tempo. So he's going to get a lot more rest than he's ever gotten before."

Sanders noted he has not spoken with the Jaguars about Hunter, but the plan he detailed for how Hunter was used at Colorado matches exactly with what the Jaguars did in Friday's stadium scrimmage: reps with the starting offense vs. the No. 2 defense and then reps with the starting defense vs. the No. 1 offense and so forth.

"You ain't getting no rest. And we even practice like that, like we practice the ones offense versus two's defense, then the ones defense versus two's offense, so he could truly simulate how it was going to be in the game rest wise. So he's going from one spot to the other," Sanders said.

"I couldn't do ones versus ones, then he would had to be on the two, that didn't make no sense. So all those thoughts go into fruition when you thinking about this Travis situation, but he has it easier because he got a huddle."